While an American cinquain requires a specific number of syllables per line, the Crapsey cinquain takes it a step further and requires a certain number of stressed syllables per line. [3] X Research source The Crapsey structure goes like this: Line 1 = 2 syllables (1 stressed); Line 2 = 4 syllables (2 stressed); Line 3 = 6 syllables (3 stressed); Line 4 = 8 syllables (4 stressed); Line 5 = 2 syllables (1 stressed). The American cinquain structure goes like this: Line 1 = 2 syllables; Line 2 = 4 syllables; Line 3 = 6 syllables; Line 4 = 8 syllables; Line 5 = 2 syllables.

The word “it” is only 1 syllable. The word “hello” is 2 syllables (hel-lo). The word “happily” is 3 syllables (hap-pi-ly). If you’re unsure of how many syllables are in a word, there are online services that can help you. The website How Many Syllables is useful. You just type in your word and it breaks it into syllables for you. [5] X Research source Be aware that you only need to worry about syllables if you’re writing a classic American cinquain or a Crapsey cinquain. For instance, a “Word Cinquain” only requires you to count the words in each line, no matter how many syllables are in each word.

William Shakespeare famously used iambic pentameter in his plays and sonnets. Iambic pentameter comprises 10 syllables, with 5 of those syllables stressed. Here is a sample line from Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 73”, with the stressed syllables capitalized: “That TIME of YEAR thou MAYST in ME beHOLD. ”[6] X Research source Notice how in iambic pentameter the syllables alternate between unstressed and stressed. You do not have two stressed syllables together in iambic pentameter, although this is possible with other types of meter (for example, spondaic meter). [7] X Research source

As an example, think of the noun “rebel” versus the verb “rebel”. In the noun, the first syllable is stressed, like this: REbel. In the verb, the second syllable is stressed, like this: reBEL. [9] X Research source As you pronounce the words you should be able to feel which are longer (stressed) and which are shorter (unstressed). If English is not your first language, you can look up the word in an online dictionary to hear the proper pronunciation.

In this example, the topic will be an evil cat who has fallen asleep on you and just woken up from his nap. Maybe this is a metaphor for someone who feels great anxiety when they wake up each day. Perhaps the cat is a metaphor for the sunlight shining in through the curtains in the morning as you lie in bed.

In this example, the title is “Lucifer Rises”.

E. g. “You see” Note that “see” is the stressed syllable here.

E. g. “His back arch up” Note that “back” and “up” are the stressed syllables here.

E. g. “His claws, they dig so deep” Note that “claws”, “dig” and “deep” are the stressed syllables here.

E. g. “You tense, he yawns, your stomach tears” Note that “tense”, “yawns”, “stom” (as in STOMach), and “tears” are the stressed syllables here.

E. g. “He grins” Note that “grins” is the stressed syllable here.

Line 1: You SEE - 2 syllables, 1 stress Line 2: His BACK arch UP - 4 syllables, 2 stresses Line 3: His CLAWS, they DIG so DEEP - 6 syllables, 3 stresses Line 4: You TENSE, he YAWNS, your STOMach TEARS - 8 syllables, 4 stresses Line 5: He GRINS - 2 syllables, 1 stress

”Lucifer Rises” You see His back arch up His claws, they dig so deep You tense, he yawns, your stomach tears He grins

For example, the “Word Cinquain” follows this structure: Line 1 = 1 word; Line 2 = 2 words; Line 3 = 3 words; Line 4 = 4 words; Line 5 = 1 word. For the purposes of this example, we’ll follow the more common style that focuses on syllables.

In our example, we’ll compare school to a giant monster who wants to eat us. A title isn’t necessary, but we’ll add one in our example. The title will be “Schoolhouse”.

Line 1 e. g. , ”Gaping”

Line 2 e. g. , “Its mouth awaits”

Curious about what words might contain 6 syllables? Capitalization and encyclopedia are two examples. Line 3 e. g. , “Hungry, slowly chomping”

Most 8-syllable words might be difficult to fit into a poem, but it can still be fun trying. Here are a couple of examples of 8-syllable words: heteronormativity and indecipherability. [22] X Research source Line 4 e. g. , “Stumble in, consumed, digesting”

Line 5 e. g. , “Learning”

Line 1: Gap-ing (2 syllables) Line 2: Its mouth a-waits (4 syllables) Line 3: Hun-gry, slow-ly chomp-ing (6 syllables) Line 4: Stum-ble in, con-sumed, di-gest-ing (8 syllables) Line 5: Learn-ing (2 syllables)

“Schoolhouse” Gaping Its mouth awaits Hungry, slowly chomping Stumble in, consumed, digesting Learning